Every parliamentary written question tabled by James Naish this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 81–100 of 764 · this parliament
What steps she is taking to improve the recording and reporting of rural crime as a distinct category within national policing frameworks.
There is no distinct offence category or grouping that captures rural crimes separately from other offences. Currently any centrally held data on crimes recorded by the police and the investigative outcomes of crimes will not be broken down into rural crime.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has discussed with international partners the potential merits of coordinated action in response to reported human rights abuses in Hong Kong prisons.
Reports of mistreatment in Hong Kong's prisons are deeply concerning. China's imposition of the National Security Law on Hong Kong has seen opposition stifled and dissent criminalised. The UK has called for the National Security Law to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. We continue to raise our concerns directly with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, as well as engaging with our international partners. The next Six-monthly Report to Parliament will be published in due course.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of police funding for rural forces in light of geographic scale, response times and organised criminal activity affecting farms and rural businesses.
This Government is introducing the most radical and comprehensive policing reforms in nearly 200 years. We will modernise policing in this country – equipping it to tackle more sophisticated, online, and cross-border crimes (like wildlife crime and organised equipment theft), while also restoring neighbourhood policing.We are on track to hit 3,000 more neighbourhood officers in March – and our target remains 13k by the end of the parliament. With the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours. Every rural area will also be covered by a Local Policing Area under a commander responsible for emergency response, local crime investigation and neighbourhood policing. They will be set targets to ensure they answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend 90% of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas.This financial year (FY25/26) we are providing £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we will be providing the same level of funding in 26/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime, which is why we worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy and sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has raised with the Chinese government reports that political prisoners in Hong Kong are being subjected to political indoctrination and so-called deradicalisation programmes.
Reports of mistreatment in Hong Kong's prisons are deeply concerning. China's imposition of the National Security Law on Hong Kong has seen opposition stifled and dissent criminalised. The UK has called for the National Security Law to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. We continue to raise our concerns directly with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, as well as engaging with our international partners. The next Six-monthly Report to Parliament will be published in due course.
What steps his Department is taking to utilise spare capacity in the chiropractic sector to support those with back pain.
NHS England does not nationally commission chiropractic care as it is a complementary and alternative medicine. Integrated care boards can make independent decisions on which health professionals they employ and may commission a limited amount of such treatment.There are currently no plans to review the categorisation of chiropractic care as a complementary and alternative medicine. Where musculoskeletal treatment is required, referrals will be made to physiotherapists where appropriate.
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on utilising spare capacity in the chiropractic sector to support those with back pain and musculoskeletal sick notes back to the workforce.
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including back pain and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as Connect to Work and WorkWell. As well as supporting people back into work, it is important that they are supported to successfully remain there. The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 120 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.
What steps his Department is taking to support those with back pain and musculoskeletal sick notes to get back to the workplace.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) problems were one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the UK in 2024. Early detection and prevention, including increasing access to employment advice, can support people with MSK conditions getting into and remaining in work. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including those with back pain and MSK conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as Connect to Work and WorkWell. As well as supporting people back into work, it is important that they are supported to successfully remain there. The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 120 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.
What steps his Department is taking to (a) increase awareness and (b) increase training for first aid for epilepsy.
The Department of Health and Social Care recognises the importance of increasing public understanding of epilepsy and ensuring that people who witness a seizure know how to respond safely. The National Health Service website provides clear, accessible first‑aid information on managing an epileptic seizure, including when to call 999 and how to keep a person safe until the seizure ends.This is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Clinical Knowledge Summary scenario on managing an epileptic seizure, which gives evidence‑based advice for clinicians on seizure first aid and post‑seizure assessment. The guidance advises health professionals to ensure that families and carers know exactly what to do during a seizure, including basic first aid and when to call an ambulance. For those at risk of prolonged or repeated seizures, the guidance also advises that an individualised emergency management plan should be agreed upon, detailing any prescribed rescue medication and who is trained to use it.Sector‑specific guidance is also available to support wider awareness. The Department for Education provides materials for schools on supporting pupils with medical conditions, including epilepsy care plans and seizure‑response guidance for teachers and school staff. In workplaces, the Health and Safety Executive provide information for employers and colleagues on responding appropriately to seizures, ensuring safety, and enabling people with epilepsy to participate fully in work.In addition, voluntary sector organisations like Epilepsy Action work alongside the NHS on public awareness campaigns on tonic-clonic seizure first aid, featuring CARE, or Comfort, Action, and Reassure, techniques.Together, these resources help ensure that members of the public, professionals, and employers have access to reliable information on seizure first aid.
Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help support fire and rescue services (a) in Nottinghamshire and (b) nationally via financial investment.
On 9 February 2026, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. (a) In 2026/27, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £60.48 million, an increase of 4.7% compared to 2025/26. (b) The Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 12.75% increase in core spending power compared to 2025/26. In addition to settlement funding, the Government has provided Fire and Rescue Authorities with several grants intended for specific purposes, such as the Fire Pensions Grant and Protection Uplift Grant.
What steps his Department is taking to make court and tribunal transcripts more accessible and affordable.
The Government is committed to strengthening transparency across the justice system and is already taking significant steps across all jurisdictions.We are also committed to upholding the principle of open justice, including embracing AI and exploring the opportunities it offers to produce court and tribunal transcripts more quickly and cost-effectively, while still meeting the necessary accuracy and safeguarding standards.In the Crown Court, sentencing remarks are now published online in cases of significant public interest, and judges can also permit broadcasters to film Crown Court sentencing remarks, ensuring greater public visibility of judicial decisions.From spring 2027, the Government is expanding free access to Crown Court sentencing remarks to all victims who request them. This builds on the existing process where victims of rape and serious sexual offences and bereaved families of victims of homicide, manslaughter and fatal road accidents were entitled to free transcripts of Crown Court sentencing remarks. These can be requested here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-transcript-of-a-judges-sentencing-remarks.In the family court, the Government has also been working to support the judiciary to increase the number of family court judgments published in anonymised form, while ensuring the privacy and protection of children and families involved in proceedings. On more targeted transparency measures, the government is working with the judiciary to roll out new provisions relating to Transparency Orders across England and Wales, providing a clear framework for reporting where a journalist or legal blogger has attended a family court hearing. Since 29 September 2025, provisions relating to Transparency Orders have applied to all children’s cases.In civil proceedings, litigants in England and Wales do not need to pay for the written order or judgment relating to their own case. This is sent to all parties involved, setting out the court’s reasoning for the decision, which parties can refer to if they wish to appeal that decision.In tribunal proceedings, any judicial decision and the reasons will be provided to the parties unless there has been an order restricting that. Many of the major tribunal chambers also allow parties to proceedings to request fuller written reasons for tribunal decisions for no additional cost.
Whether his Department plans to include kinship parents in its Parental leave and pay review.
The Government’s Parental Leave and Pay Review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings which outline next steps for implementing any reforms.In addition to considering, all current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements, the Review is considering the needs of other working families who do not qualify for existing leave and pay entitlements, such as kinship carers.The Government is also supporting kinship carers through other mechanisms and has recently launched a kinship pilot to support up to 5,000 kinship families by paying eligible carers an allowance equivalent to the Fostering National Minimum Allowance.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will set out the timeline for publishing the spending allocations for Official Development Assistance up to 2028/29; and what steps she is taking to ensure funding for humanitarian programmes is protected.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 January to Question 107281.
Whether her Department has had any discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority regarding the valuation transparency of BrewDog's Equity for Punks scheme.
The government does not comment on individual firms’ commercial activities.In 2024, the government delivered the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations which enabled the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reform the UK Prospectus Regime to make it simpler and more effective. This new regime took effect on 19 January 2026, and will give investors access to better quality information to support their investment decisions.The regulations also created a new regulated activity of operating a Public Offer Platform (POP). Companies seeking to make public offers of securities outside a public market to a broad investor base, where the value exceeds £5 million, will now need to do so via a POP, ensuring investors receive better information about their investments.
If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the process of providing reimbursements to people who have over paid their tax in the context of the Loan Charge review conducted HMRC.
The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to help bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The review identified affordability as a key barrier preventing those individuals from settling and made recommendations to remove this barrier. In recognition of the unique circumstances, the Government is taking the extraordinary step of relieving people of some of these liabilities. The Government has no plans to apply the review’s recommendations beyond those individuals and employers with outstanding liabilities that were the focus of the review.
Whether her Department will offer the same settlement terms from the implementation of the McCann Review to people that have settled with HMRC.
The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to help bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The review identified affordability as a key barrier preventing those individuals from settling and made recommendations to remove this barrier. In recognition of the unique circumstances, the Government is taking the extraordinary step of relieving people of some of these liabilities. The Government has no plans to apply the review’s recommendations beyond those individuals and employers with outstanding liabilities that were the focus of the review.
What assessment her department has made on the number of children on the British National (Overseas) visa who would face delays in attaining settled status due to their parents’ inability to meet new proposed income and language mandatory criteria for indefinite leave to remain.
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.We sought views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, which was open between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. We will now carefully review and analyse all responses received and the findings will support the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures. Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.Economic and equality impact assessments will be conducted on the final model and will consider the impacts on different groups, including children where relevant, and will be published in due course.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
What steps his department are taking to improve recognition and provision for people with long COVID.
NHS England has invested significantly in supporting people with long covid. This includes setting up specialist post-COVID-19, or long covid, services nationwide for adults, and children and young people, and investing in ensuring general practice teams are equipped to support people affected by the condition.Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, the commissioning of post-COVID-19 services has been the responsibility of local integrated care boards to meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding.To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to establish the International Post Covid and Post Infection Conditions Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by long covid.The National Institute for Health and Care Research and Medical Research Council, which is part of UK Research and Innovation, are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for long covid, including for children and young people. This includes the world’s largest longitudinal cohort study to understand the impact of long covid in children, the Children and young people with Long-Covid study.
What steps his department are taking to improve A) diagnosis and B) treatment of children with long COVID.
NHS England has invested significantly in supporting people with long covid. This includes setting up specialist post-COVID-19, or long covid, services nationwide for adults, and children and young people, and investing in ensuring general practice teams are equipped to support people affected by the condition.Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, the commissioning of post-COVID-19 services has been the responsibility of local integrated care boards to meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding.To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to establish the International Post Covid and Post Infection Conditions Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by long covid.The National Institute for Health and Care Research and Medical Research Council, which is part of UK Research and Innovation, are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for long covid, including for children and young people. This includes the world’s largest longitudinal cohort study to understand the impact of long covid in children, the Children and young people with Long-Covid study.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of paragraph HK 23.5 of the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa route on applicants who hold permission as BN(O) Adult Dependent Relatives due to (a) having been born after 1 July 1997 and (b) having applied before 30 November 2022; and if she will take steps to amend the Immigration Rules to allow those individuals to switch into the mainstream BN(O) route and therefore be able to apply to (i) extend their visa if necessary and (ii) apply for indefinite leave to remain in their own right.
We currently have no plans to allow those granted as an Adult Dependent Relative on the BN(O) route to switch within the route, but we keep all Immigration Rules and policies under review.
When she plans to publish further information on long-term steps to help support people using the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.
The Ukraine Schemes reflect a generous and meaningful commitment to support those displaced by the conflict. Since the full‑scale invasion began, the UK has provided sanctuary to over 300,000 Ukrainians and their family members.The Government has been clear from the outset that the Ukraine Schemes are temporary humanitarian routes and do not provide a direct pathway to settlement. This reflects the Ukrainian Government’s strong desire for their citizens to be able to return home when it is safe to do so, in order to contribute to Ukraine’s future recovery. Time spent in the UK with permission granted under the Ukraine Schemes cannot be relied upon towards the continuous qualifying period for the purposes of a Long Residence application.On 24 February, the Government confirmed in Parliament that the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme will be extended for a further 24 months. This provides longer-term temporary certainty for Ukrainians in the UK, meaning they may benefit from up to 3.5 years’ permission under UPE, in addition to any time already granted under the Ukraine Schemes. This extension reaffirms the UK’s ongoing commitment to supporting those displaced by the conflict.To support a smoother application process, applicants will also be able to apply for further permission within the final 90 days of their current leave, rather than the previous 28‑day period. This will provide greater flexibility and assurance, allowing applicants to secure their future in the UK with confidence and ease.Ukrainians in the UK under any of the Ukraine Schemes may apply to switch into other immigration routes for which they meet the eligibility and suitability requirements, including work, study, family and private life routes.The Government will update the relevant GOV.UK pages in due course to reflect the 24‑month extension of the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme. The Immigration Rules and caseworker guidance will be updated in line with the changes as they come into effect.The Government recognises the importance of providing long‑term certainty for Ukrainians living in the UK beyond the lifetime of UPE. Work is underway across Government on future arrangements, and a further statement setting out the long‑term position will be issued later this year.The Government continues to keep the Ukraine Schemes and the evolving situation in Ukraine under close and active review.